March 6, 2017

Call to Order: Board President Dorene Scheffel called the regular meeting to order at 6:30 pm. At roll call, the following board members responded as present: Ms. Adkins, Mrs. Bruun, Mr. Hendrix, Mr. Livingston, Mr. Weilage and Mrs. Scheffel. Mr. Stoufer was absent.

Approve Agenda: Mr. Hendrix moved, seconded by Mrs. Bruun, that the agenda be approved as presented. Discussion: None Carried: 6-0
Commendations/Good News:
• Project Lead the Way received a $500 donation from the Grenville M. Dodge Chapter to help support the program.
• Lewis Central High School hosted the START Conference for student leaders.
• Josh Allen hosted a GoOpen Summit, highlighting on line resources.
• The Clash of the Titans was also this past weekend.
• Individual Speech participants also had a very successful weekend.

Reports – No report but a reminder that the Booster Club Dinner and Auction will be held on March 18th at Iowa Western Community College.

Discussion Items7.01 Contract with BVH for Professional Services (New Concession Building)
BVH Architecture has provided us with a contract for professional services in conjunction with the new concession stand/restroom building that will be constructed as part of the track reconstruction project (new track, new bleachers on the visitor’s side of the football field/track, and a new concession stand/restroom building on the visitor’s side.
The contract is for a fixed amount ($58,900).

7.02 Contract with ISD for Nursing Services
A family recently moved into the Lewis Central School District from Omaha. One of their children has a severe hearing loss, along with other significant disabilities. Based on the student’s current IEP from Omaha, the student requires full time nursing services during the school day and these services are currently being provided through Maxim Healthcare in Omaha. Because LC is responsible for paying for individualized costs for resident students at ISD, we developed a contract with them to ensure that these services are being provided. We will be paying ISD $54.00 an hour for services incurred during the school day to support this student’s IEP.

The estimated cost of the track reconstruction project was $860,000 (not including contingency of 5% and professional fees of engineering firm and architectural firm). The projected start date is March 20 weather permitting. Lamp Rynearson will be providing oversight on the track reconstruction project. Their recommendation is to award the contract to Nemaha Sports Construction with the low bid of $697,933.48.

7.05 2017-2018 Calendar
This is the 2nd year of the “hours” versus “days” calendar. One of the Board/Superintendent and SIAC goals is to “Support innovative teaching practices and instructional methods to more precisely engage and address the learning need of all students”. One of the specific strategies identified with this goal is to “explore alternatives for the delivery of professional development including an examination of hours vs. days calendars and the 2‐hour early release professional development days”.

Two years ago we lengthened the instructional day at both Kreft and Titan Hill to 6.5 hours (6 hours was the required minimum according to recently passed legislation at that time). We lengthened the instructional day but kept the length of the work day the same per the Master Contract. Prior to moving to the “hours” calendar we had 20+ 2‐hour early outs for professional development in the calendar. For the past 2 years we have had only (5) 2‐hour early outs. In addition we had 6 full PD days in the calendar. With the recent calendar, we had some concerns regarding the loss of PD time but we said that we would put the “hours” calendar in place and assess after having such a calendar in place for a couple of years.

The reduction in the teacher collaboration time to plan at the elementary level has become a significant issue. Our recommendation is that we need to find a way to recoup some time. We don’t believe it would make sense to reduce the length of the instructional day.

The feedback that we have received from parents (limited) is a preference for early dismissals rather than late starts. Other feedback has been to consider adopting a two‐year calendar so that families can plan accordingly. We are proposing an “hours” calendar that would have 3 full PD days and a 1 hour early dismissal every Wednesday. The minimum number of “hours” required is 1,080. With the proposed calendar we would have the following number of instructional hours at the buildings:
• Titan Hill 1104.30
• Kreft 1162.30
• Middle School 1113.90
• High School 1108.00

Another important consideration is the amount of Professional Development time for our teachers. The proposed 2017‐2018 calendar would have 3 more hours of PD time (61 vs. 58).

There was some discussion that with block scheduling at the Middle School, it would be less disruptive to learning time to have early out each Friday afternoon because of the schedule and how it is set up.

7.06 Superintendent Evaluation Timelines
The superintendent is to be evaluated each year. The formal evaluation has traditionally been done in the spring of the year. Here is a timeline for your consideration:

March 7‐19 Individual board members complete the evaluation and submit to Board President

March 20 Discussion of compilation of individual evaluations into a single evaluation (closed session)

April 3 The evaluation shared with the superintendent in closed session

7.04 Open Enrollment-Out Application for 2016-2017 (Closed Session)
At 7:20 p.m. Mr. Livingston moved, seconded by Mr. Hendrix, that the Lewis Central Board of Directors move into Closed Session per Iowa Code Section 21.5(1) (a) To review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that governmental body’s possession or continued receipt of federal funds. Discussion: None Carried: 6-0

Comments & Suggestions
• Patti Hendrix, 12663 Greystone Court, Council Bluffs, IA commented on the calendar discussion about the possibility of switching the block scheduling issues to Wednesday instead of Friday as a way to be less disruptive.
Action Items9.01 Contract with BVH for Professional Services (New Concession Building)
Mr. Hendrix moved, seconded by Mrs. Bruun, that the Lewis Central Board of Directors approve the contract with BVH for Professional Services for the new Concession Stand/Restroom building in the amount of $58,900. Discussion: None Carried: 6-0